KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said politician Paddy Ashdown cannot become U.N. envoy to Afghanistan unless the world body clarifies his role, state newspapers said on Monday.

A Western source close to talks over the post said last week Ashdown, the former U.N. High Representative and EU special envoy for Bosnia, had agreed with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to be his special envoy for Afghanistan.

The United States wants Ashdown to have greater powers than previous U.N. envoys to coordinate with Karzai's government, the European Union and NATO which commands some 42,000 troops fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, Western sources said.
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